The Hunters
by TheGamesGuy
Summary: What happens when the spectral anomalies of metro begin breaking down the walls between universes? Titans are soon spotted across the surface of dead Moscow, later accompanied by soldiers with little to no idea of how they arrived. Artyom meets Eren Jaegar, the two must unite with their allies to eliminate this new threat. Rated M for violence and swearing.
1. Stalkers

"Dammit!" Alexei said, pulling his hand out of the box he was searching. He held his finger close to his face, inspecting his injury. A small ribbon of blood on the tip of his index finger. His first thought was to simply lick the blood of his finger, but his gasmask prevented him from doing so.

"You alright?" Yuri called from the next room. Yuri came walking in a second later, wearing a tattered Russian flag as a poncho over his grey snowsuit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Alexei replied. Annoyed, he wiped the blood onto his camouflage cargo pants. "It was just a nail or something.

"Ouch," Yuri responded, his eyes wincing behind the two plastic lenses of his mask. "I'm starting to think some guys already hit this place." His long blonde hair shook as he turned his head, scanning the room. "How's Grisha doing?"

"They boy has good eyes," Alexei answered, standing up straight and scooping his Kalash off the ground. "To bad he can't hit shit. A watchman comes running at us, he unloads a whole magazine, doesn't even hit it once."

"That's because I gave him the bastard gun." Yuri said, his mask shifted slightly as a smile came to his face.

Alexei chuckled, "Well we should probably check on him."

The pair walked up the creaky steps of the house to the second floor. 15-year old Grisha was standing near the window, looking out with a pair of binoculars. "See anything boy?" Yuri called out from down the hallway. Grisha turned. Only his blue eyes were visible from behind his balaclava and clear visor gas mask.

"As a matter of fact, I do." He said, the signs of a smile showing from behind his mask. "See its right over there." He handed the binoculars to Alexei and pointed out the window. Alexei didn't even use the binoculars.

"Fuck that," he said, shoving the binoculars back to Grisha. "See that there?" he pointed his gloved hand at the large red-brick structure nearby. "That's called Kremlin, I ain't setting foot anywhere near that."

Grisha's face contorted with frustration behind his mask. "There are three ammo boxes over there in that guardhouse, think of how many military grade rounds are in there!" The boy was adamant. Three boxes was a lot of bullets, enough to set them up for life.

"It does sound tempting." Yuri said, trying to remain somewhat neutral, but still wanting to keep away from the Kremlin.

"C'mon," Grisha said, holding his arms out. "You guys call yourselves stalkers?"

"I can call myself a stalker because I'm not stupid, I'm alive." Alexei shot back, trying to teach the kid a lesson. "When you've been as long as I have—"He stopped short. Three boxes of ammo? A lot of bullets there. He let out a deep sigh, mentally kicking himself. "Fine, let's just get them and get out.

Grisha's eyes widened with enthusiasm. "Let's get going!"

The three descended the crumbling staircase into the living room and then out the door. The sun was at high noon and the skies clear, no storms in sight. Alexei wondered if his son back at Revolution Square even knew what the word "storm" meant.

"So… what's all the fuss over Kremlin?" Grisha asked, trying to pass the time as they walked across the red square. "I mean… everyone says stay away, but why?"

Alexei put his hand on Grisha's shoulder as they walked beside each other. "Don't look, but there is this star on the tippity-top of the building. Anyone who looks at it gets completely mesmerized, you start walking towards it, and all the gates are open. You step inside and they close." Alexei paused for a second, he was starting to scare himself. "Also, you see all the spots where the pavement is torn open, you can see the catacombs of ancient Czars if you look closely. There are ghosts and shit in those holes, we try to stay out of them. And on top of all of it—"

"Shut up!" Yuri interrupted. "You're starting to freak me out." The gang finally reached the guard house, a measly little hut alongside a pile of jagged steel that was once a watch tower. The three rusted green ammo cases sat stacked like a pyramid in the center of the structure. Yuri walked up and began fiddling with the latch. Grisha and Alexei held their guns at the ready.

Suddenly Grisha heard the unmistakable sound of children giggling. His head shot around to look behind him.

"You alright?" Alexei asked.

"It's nothing, I-I thought I heard something."

Alexei cringed at Grisha's words. "Yuri, what's taking so long?" he asked, trying to shake the tension.

"Just about…" Yuri said, pulling up on the rusted latch with all his might, "There!" He exclaimed as the latch clicked and the lid came off. His eyes lit up instantly. The box was filled to the brim with bullets. Grisha and Alexei could not contain their excitement either. They quickly began stuffing their packs with bullets, one box each. They ditched a few tools and filters to make room, they could buy more once they were set.

"Okay, let's go." Alexei said, the men set off at a brisk pace back to the station. They dreamt aloud of what they could now afford. Salt, Soap, toys for their kids, and all the VDNkH tea and mushroom vodka they could drink! The station was almost in view, they could see the distinct M sign.

A sudden boom was heard, the three turned around to find the source, but were greeted by a puff of steam that knocked them over. "Shit!" Alexei exclaimed as he landed hard on the pavement, knocking the wind out of him. Yuri and Grisha were up on their feet in seconds. Alexei gasped for air as he sat up. Finally he caught his breath and looked to Yuri and Grisha. The two stood frozen, their eyes widened in fear. Alexei turned his head in the direction they were looking.

Just above the cloud of smoke was an enormous human like head with short black hair. Its corpse-like mouth twisted in a devilish smile. The steam faded, revealing the full form of this monstrosity. Alexei and Grisha were paralyzed, beholding this creature with fear and wonder. It resembled a large naked man, minus the genitalia. It had to be at least 7 meters tall. The creature looked down at them and reached for Alexei with its giant meaty hands. Alexei managed to muster just enough awareness to dive to the side as the creatures hand hit the ground. The creature shifted its hand across the ground and grabbed Alexei by the legs. He wasn't more than a few feet of the ground when Yuri sprang into action. He fired a shot with his Preved, the .50 caliber bullet lodged itself into the creature's eye. It dropped Alexei and brought its hands to his face.

The stalker scrambled to his feet as Yuri bolted the weapon and prepared to shoot again, Grisha was already running towards the station. "Forget it! Run! Alexei shouted, pulling at Yuri's dirty flag poncho. The two caught up to Grisha at the bottom of the torn escalators.

"Open up! Let us in!" Grisha shouted, he pounded on the sealed doors viciously. Alexei turned his attention to the entrance, the creature was crawling down towards them. The twisted steel of the escalator cut at its hands and knees but it didn't seem to mind. Alexei thought uncomfortably of the creature slipping, sliding down and crushing them. The door was now open, just enough for a man to slip through. Grisha squeezed in followed by Yuri. The door was open a good bit now, and the creature was almost in reaching distance of Alexei. Alexei bolted through the door and dove behind a sandbag wall.

"Idiots! He shouted, seeing how wide open the door was. "Don't you see what's out there?

The doors began closing when one grinded to a halt, the creature's fingers were in the way. The door began to slide open, revealing the twisted smile of the creature. The guards panicked and began shooting. The bullets did nothing as its hand reached forward. The guards backed away, one tripping over a sandbag. The creature picked up the man and brought him, kicking and screaming, towards its mouth. The doors were no longer blocked. The team of men turned the crank as quickly as possible, the door began to close. The creature bit the man in half, sending a spray of blood into the station. The creature gulped the other half down right as the door slammed shut. The station was dead silent for a second. A loud bang was heard, causing everyone to jump back. The bang was followed by another, a third never came.

Alexei looked around, Grisha was here and Yuri was here. As a bonus, they all still had their bullets. A guard looked at the three, his face was pale, his deep brown eyes fearful.

"What the fuck was that thing?"


	2. Rangers

**[This story's Metro lore comes from a hybrid of the games and the books, some names and character attributes will be swapped to fit the books portrayal. I.E. Miller is changed to Melnik, as it is in the books. Ulman has blonde hair etc. you should be able to catch on easily enough.]**

"Papa! Papa! Wake up!" Misha shouted, shaking his father's cot

"What is it Misha?" Artyom asked. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Are you hurt?" Artyom had been up late training cadets at D6. He made sure Anna told Misha not to wake him up unless it was an emergency. "Are you hurt?" he repeated.

"No Papa, Grandpa is here!" Misha said excitedly.

"I thought Mama and I told you not to open the door?" Artyom said in a scolding tone.

"I-I'm sorry papa," Misha said, holding his hands behind his back, looking at the dirty concrete floor. "It's just… I heard his voice…" Misha knew he had done something wrong.

Artyom sighed, he climbed out of his cot and knelt beside Misha. "It's alright." He said, giving his son a pat on the shoulder. He stepped over his son's sleeping bag and walked over to the door. He yawned and opened the door. Melnik was waiting patiently in his wheel chair, his camouflaged pants tied off at the knees were he lost his legs fighting the Reds alongside Artyom. "What's up?" Artyom said, putting his hand up against the door frame as he felt a sudden head rush. "If you're looking for Anna, already left, she should be near the market."

"Hi Grandpa!" Misha said, walking up from behind Artyom.

Melnik smiled and gave a small wave to Misha. "I need to talk to you, its Ranger business."

"Well I can't just leave Misha here by himself. Maybe you could stay here until Anna comes back, I'm sure she won't be long. Melnik nodded and rolled his wheelchair inside. Artyom and Anna's shack wasn't that big, but bigger than most around Polis. After word of Artyom's exploits came around after the battle of D6, the Polis council gave Artyom and Anna a decent sized shack. They had a small family room attached to their bedroom. Melnik's wheel chair fit into the corner of the room. Misha climbed up and sat in his grandpa's lap.

"Do you want some tea?" Artyom asked, pointing to a kettle sitting next to a Bunsen burner.

"No, I'm fine." Melnik replied.

Artyom took a seat on a rocking chair in the opposite corner. "Grandpa," Misha asked, "How did you get those scars?" Melnik ran his hand across the three parallel scars reaching from his hairline down to his chin.

"I was fighting some mutants in the tunnels, one of them scratched me." He explained.

"Did it hurt?"

"Why yes, quite a lot actually."

"Is that how you lost your legs to?" Melnik glanced at Artyom for a yea or nay.

"No, no, we'll tell you that story another time, it's a long one." Artyom said. There was a knock on the door. "Oh that must be her." Artyom stood up and walked to the door. He unlocked it and found Anna standing with a crate from the market.

"Mama!" Misha shouted, hopping off Melnik's lap and running over to see what she had brought back.

"Father? What are you doing here?" She asked as she caught sight of Melnik.

"We were waiting for you, I have to talk to Artyom in private." Melnik said, sitting up and preparing to move his wheelchair.

Anna let out a deep sigh. It was no doubt a ranger mission that she couldn't take part in. Someone had to take care of Misha. Artyom and Anna started out by taking turns taking care of him. However, Anna proved to be a better parent that Artyom ever could be. So, over time, it fell to her staying behind. Artyom stood up and headed for the door, Melnik rolled behind him.

"What's in the box Mama?" Misha asked. Anna held he crate down to show a large gray rat. "Can I play with it?" he asked excitedly.

"Alright, but don't let it escape, I don't want to waste food." Anna replied. Artyom caught a glimpse of the rat out of the corner of his eye, sending a shiver down his spine. He hated rats, ever since Uncle Sasha told him the story of how his home station was overrun when he was a baby. Artyom let Melnik take the lead as the two pushed through the crowded pathways. They had to stop to allow a team of Draisines to pass. A man then placed a large board across the rails for people to walk over to the next platform. They made it to the Ranger HQ on the other side of the station. The Polis guards saluted both of them. Melnik directed Artyom into his office and shut the door.

"So, what is it?" Artyom asked. Taking a seat in the gutted leather chair. "Bandits, Mutants, Nazis, Plague…"

"Mutants," Melnik answered. "Well, mutant, we hope. Some stalkers came running into Revolution Square, they were being chased by some mutant we haven't seen. It was described in the letter as a giant naked man who ate one of the guards."

"Sounds like they may have been brewing the wrong mushrooms." Artyom chuckled.

"Normally, I would have said the same." Melnik continued. "But, everyone saw this thing, the guards, the stalkers, even the people who lived near the gate. I want you to get some guys together and head to Revolution, see if you can't kill this thing."

"Well," Artyom stood up straight. "Consider it done." Artyom walked out confidently. Old Melnik must be off the deep end, this seemed like easy pay. Artyom walked over to the Armory, he didn't believe they'd actually run in to anything, but it never hurt to be prepared. He put on his armor and selected his weapons. A Preved with a scope and 5 round clip, A Kalash, and a revolver. He paged through the roster and chose three people who he had served with before. Pyotr, Katerina, and Simon.

Artyom met his team near the rail bike parking. Pyotr was big bear of a man with a shaved head. He held a Shambler shotgun with a Lolife carbine attached to his belt. Katerina was tall, but slender, her black hair was cut in a boyish fashion. She wielded a Kalash with a bayonet and silenced revolver. Finally, Simon was shorter than the rest, slightly shorter than Artyom. His face was obscured by a ranger helmet similar to Artyom's. Artyom was about to criticize his choice of weapon, a bastard gun, but stopped himself when he noticed the enormous Abzats slung across his back.

"Okay, everyone," Artyom began. "Supposedly some giant naked mutant man attacked Revolution Square, we need to put down." The others gave him a strange look. "And, should the situation dictate, we should sip some tea, make sure they used the right shrooms." The team laughed. "Now let's go."

The rail bikes had two seats each, side by side. Artyom climbed into the passenger seat and Pyotr took the driver's seat. Katerina and Simon took the bike behind them. Artyom pointed forward and Pyotr revved the engine. They left Polis in no time. Artyom was still a little tired from yesterday's work. He rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes as the vehicle rattled down the tracks. He didn't get any sleep, but it made time pass quickly. The bike skidded to a halt, Artyom could hear the bustling crowds of Revolution Square after Pyotr killed the engine. Artyom and his team flashed their ranger tags to the Red Line guards and walked in with no trouble. They pushed through the people and communist promoters, making their way to the door. The area was completely fortified. The usual sand bags were replaced by scrap metal bunkers and row upon row of home weaved barbed wire. A row of claymores sat behind everything, wired to a single detonator.

"You'd think they were gearing up for war." Simon said. The squad approached the fortifications, Artyom counted four DShK machineguns trained on the entrance.

"Who's in charge here?" Artyom asked grabbing one of the soldiers guarding the gate. The soldier pointed to a clean-cut major walking along the barbed wire fence. "Hey! Over here!" he called, waving the major over to his location.

"What is it?" The major asked gruffly.

Artyom flashed his tags "We need to head to the surface."

The major showed clear signs of fear, but responded with a nod. "You think you can kill that fucker, go ahead." He turned towards his men. "We have outgoing! Open up!" he ordered. The soldiers manned their positions, weapons pointed at the entrance. Katerina looked nervously at the man with his thumb on the detonator, the very same detonator for the claymores they had just stepped over. Pyotr and Katerina put on their gas masks, Artyom and Simon brought down the face plate of their ranger helmets. Artyom had a traditional gasmask in reserve, just in case. The door grinded open, just far enough for Artyom's gang to squeeze through. Artyom stuck his head out, only thing he saw was the metro entrance, the escalator leading up to the sky. Artyom motioned his squad forward. The door shut behind them shortly after.

They ascended the escalator and found themselves in the crumbled ruins of the old station building. "I'm back Moscow." Artyom said to himself.

"So… How do we find this thing?" Katerina asked.

"Follow the giant foot prints?" Simon suggested.

"Very funn—"Artyom stopped mid-sentence, there actually were giant footprints leading down the escalator, but then back out. "Well, we better hop to it." The team didn't make it far when they stopped dead in their tracks. Down the street, they could see it. The massive creature matched every description, from its wicked smile to its 7 meter height. Scarier, was what stood next to it. Another similar creature, but twice as big.

"Holy shit…" Pyotr said. Artyom stood with his mouth open, unbelievable, the things were real.

"You guys see this to, right?" Artyom asked.

Before an answer could be heard, a boom was heard to their left, the looked to see a cloud of steam. The four readied weapons, Simon unslung his Abzats and pointed it at the white cloud. The smoke cleared to reveal a person, not a creature. Artyom moved closer, the kid was young, at least mid-teens. He wore a short brown jacket with a dual wing motif emblazoned on the shoulders. He had knee high boots and white pants. All across his body was some type of harness, attached to two large rectangular machines on each side of his body. What shocked Artyom more was his face, He had to convince himself he was not looking back in time. The kid looked exactly like him! From his facial features, his brown hair, to his bluish-green eyes.

The kid took a gasp for air and immediately started coughing erratically, he tried again through his nose, to no better effect. Artyom unhooked his spare mask and came running towards the kid. Artyom attempted to put the mask over the kids face. The kid resisted, knocking Artyom's hands away. "Dammit! Cooperate!" Artyom shouted as he tried again, same result. This reminded him of when Pavel took off his mask while possessed by ghosts. The kid leaned in suddenly, head-butting Artyom. The kid recoiled in pain, with his eyes watering from the toxic air. He must not have noticed Artyom's metal mask. Artyom took this advantage and forced the mask over the kids face. The kid reached for the straps, trying to tear it off. "Stop!" Artyom yelled, keeping his hand on the face of the mask. "Breathe in, breathe out." he said, moving his hand up and down with each breath of his own. The kid began to breathe normally.

"Who the hell are you?" the kid demanded.

This had to be a ghost, it had to be. He looked way too much like Artyom for this to be coincidence. Artyom was 25, so there was no way he could have another kid this age. It had to be a ghost.

"We're Rangers, who are you?" Katerina responded.

The kid scanned each of them carefully. "I'm Eren Jaeger."


	3. Titans

"C'mon move your fat asses!" The lieutenant shouted. The scouts scramble down the steps and ran out the door towards the stables, their ODM gear clattering as they went along. Eren looked to the sky to see the sunrise poking out just above the far mountains. The first horse emerged with a rider, followed by several others. Eren glimpsed Levi galloping by, his cloak flapping in the breeze.

"Shit," Eren said to himself, he had forgotten his cloak in the confusion.

"Anyone know why we're being ordered around inside wall rose?" Connie asked, as he mounted his horse.

"Inside wall rose?" Eren asked, mounting his horse beside Jean.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Jean responded, taking hold of the reins. "Their sending us four kilometers west, that's inside the walls!" Jean snapped the reins and his horse took off. Eren spotted Armin on his way out, he took hold of the reins and caught up to him.

"Armin! Whats going on? Is there a breach?" Memories of Shiganshina and Trost flooded his head.

"No," Armin answered, surprisingly calm, not like his breakdown at the battle of Trost. "Commander Erwin said they don't have any breaches anywhere, two titans just popped up in some farmland."

"So, shouldn't the garrison handle it?" Eren asked. Their horses were off the road now, sprinting across the open fields.

"That's the thing," Armin replied, the titans are far enough in that the cannons are out of range!" Eren pondered that for a second. Two titans this deep with no breach in the walls? The sound of horse hooves filled his ears, at least thirty people had been mobilized. A certain set of hooves began to sound louder and louder. Eren looked left to see Mikasa had arrived alongside them.

"Not sure how they expect us to take them down." She said "this area is all farmland, we won't be able to maneuver very well." Mikasa was right, they were as good as fodder without surfaces to latch on to.

The cold morning air stung Eren's face as they raced on. If he had just remembered his cloak, he could have used to shield his face like the others. "It better not fucking rain." He said under his breath.

"Everyone listen up!" A voice shouted. "We're playing bait! Draw those fuckers towards trees, buildings, anything that the combat team can maneuver on!" The voice was coming from a captain that Eren hadn't met before, he must have been appointed recently, or maybe he was from a different unit, and mobilized in the confusion. The titans appeared over the crest of the hill, a 7 meter and a 5 meter. Eren breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't that big, they could be dispatched quickly. Eren and ten others, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean included. Split off from the main group. There was a decent sized patch of trees and a tall windmill. That was where there titans needed to go. The titans drew closer, the 7 meter had a patch of blood dripping down its chin. It must have caught a farmer or a hunter.

They were close enough now. The 5 meter leaned forward, its hand outstretched. The horses scattered, the titan followed Eren and the few that went his direction. "Come and get me you big bastard!" he shouted defiantly. A sudden puff of smoke to the right spooked the horses, causing them to veer left towards the titans. Eren heard a scream, the man behind him had been plucked of his horse and was now dangling over the titan's mouth. "No!" he shouted, turning his horse around. He quickly spied his opportunity, he could latch onto the titans arm, swing around and strike the neck. He wasn't sure if he could save the man, but it was worth a shot. He fired a harpoon, the device stuck deep into the forearm near the elbow. He jumped and activated the thrust.

A puff of smoke suddenly engulfed him. He was no longer swinging, but falling. He fell a good few feet and hit solid brick. He shifted his body so he was on his hands and knees. Taking a breath in, he tried to gather his bearings. His train of thought was cut short when his lungs seemed to catch fire, his throat began to itch. He started to cough, he attempted to breathe through his nostrils with no better result. Tears began to sting his eyes when he noticed a figure sprinting towards him, too small to be a titan, but didn't look like any human he had seen. The character wore multicolored fabric consisting of black, dark green and brown. The shades seemed to be dotted all across the outfit in no particular order. The man was close, too close. He moved a strange black object towards Eren's face, two straps dangled from the opposite end. Eren caught the man's hand and forced it to the side.

"Dammit!" The man responded in a gravelly voice. "Cooperate!"

What the fuck is this? The hands came down again, this time more forcefully. Eren pushed away again with all his strength, adding a head-butt for good measure. He was met by a hard surface. He jerked back and brought a hand to his forehead, leaving one free to defend himself. The stranger moved forward quickly, slipping the object over Eren's face. The object seemed to be a mask of sorts, with two holes for eyes covered by glass. The mask was uncomfortable, he fumbled for the straps, trying to rip it off. The man shouted something and placed his large hand across the face of the mask. Eren took a breath and prepared to lash out, then he realized, he could breathe again.

"Breathe in, breathe out." The man said, moving his hand up and down mimicking breathing. Eren took a breath and then let it out. Three more individuals were gathered beside him now, two wore masks identical to his own.

"Who the hell are you?" Eren asked, with spring of malevolence towards the unknown men.

"We're Rangers," One replied in a feminine voice. "Who are you?"

He looked at each of them, they didn't show any sign of hostility. "I'm Eren Jaeger," He said proudly.

"You say that name like we should know it," One of the men said.

"You don't know who I am?" Eren asked, puzzled. "I thought you said you were scouts?"

"I said we were Rangers, Spartan Rangers," The woman corrected. "You know… from Polis?"

"Polis?" Eren said in a confused tone. He had never heard of a town called Polis. "What wall is that in?" The four Rangers looked at each other.

"Are you alright?" The metal masked man asked. "You seem a little… out of sorts."

Out of sorts? Where am I? Eren thought.

"Well look", the metal masked man stood up, extending his hand to help Eren to his feet. "My name is Artyom, this is Katerina, Pyotr, and Simon. Eren took Artyom's hand and stood up.

"Sir! Those mutants are coming this way!" Pyotr shouted, pointing down the street. Eren saw two titans walking down the street, a 7 meter and a 15 meter. Eren picked up his paring blades, ready to fight.

"Shit, let's get out of here!" Artyom ordered.

"Wait!" Eren said. The four stopped and turned towards him. "We're just going to run? There's five of us, we can take them!"

"Are you insane?" Artyom asked "I've killed some nasty shit, boy! But this is way over our heads! They can't touch us in the metro!"

Eren frowned at their lack of ODM gear, but Artyom seemed to have some sort of musket on his back, along with a strange club in his hands. "You guys can distract them then!" Eren fired his gear and shot up to the roof of the nearest building. The rangers were stunned buy this sudden action, Eren assumed they had never seen ODM gear. Eren sprinted across the roof top towards the titans, nearly losing his footing on the rotten shingle work. He got a good look at his surroundings, the city was different then he was used to, but it looked as though it had been abandoned for quite some time The structures were burnt and dilapidated, almost like skeletons of the structures they once were.. Tall buildings stood in the distance, taller than any of the walls he had lived behind. He looked down to see the the rangers had decided to help. Eren could here the unmistakable sound of gun fire, but it sounded as though hundreds of muskets were firing one after the other. Eren glimpsed the rangers again and noticed their club like weapons were in fact some type of musket-like weapon. The strange weapons fired rapidly, without the need for reloading after each shot.

The titans closed on the rangers, the 15 meter reached towards them. Simon knelt down, using his knee as a stand for his weapon. His weapon made a dull thudding sound as the buckshot tore into the titan's hand, ripping off fingers and chunks of flesh. Artyom fired his own weapon. The weapon made a loud, echoing crack, hitting the creatures opposite hand in the wrist, tearing a chunk out and leaving it dangling by soft tissue. Eren took the opportunity, hooking to the building on the opposite end of the street, he shot forward. His twin blades carving deep into the titan's neck. The Titan fell sideways, smashing the nearby building.

Pyotr lit a grenade and lobbed it at the 7 meter titan's feet. It exploded, tearing of several toes, causing the creature to lose its balance and fall forward. The rangers dove away frantically as it came tumbling down, cracking the pavement on impact. Eren fired a hook into the back of the titan's neck. He zipped forward and sliced through the neck.

Artyom and the others hopped to their feet and inspected the carnage. Both titans were dead, their bodies already decomposing.

"Were the hell did you get that?" Artyom asked, tapping Eren's ODM gear with his gun barrel. "And how did you kill those things?"

"It's easy, really," Eren said. "The weak spot is the back of the neck."


	4. Dark Ones

"Everyone listen up!" Captain Lennertz shouted. "We're playing bait! Draw those fuckers towards trees, buildings, anything that the combat team can maneuver on!"

The titans were in full view now, a 7 meter and a 5 meter. Jean wasn't fazed, these were tiny compared to others he had fought. The group split up, Armin, Mikasa and Eren were in his group. The horses moved forward. Jean caught a brief look at the 5 meter as it came down on them. Jean veered right with most of the others.

"Come get me you big bastard!" Eren shouted angrily.

"You're going to get yourself killed." Jean said, his voice drowned out by the patter of hooves. "At least save one for me." He changed his tone as adrenaline filled his head. His rush was cut short when a puff of smoke surrounded him. "What the hell?" He shouted.

He was no longer on his horse, but he was still moving forward, and quickly. He flew out of the smoke cloud and caught a glimpse of his surroundings. It was high noon, he was in some type of swamp, ruined stone structures here and there. He hit the damp ground and tumbled to a stop. His ODM gear made a loud pinging sound as the gas tank broke free and shot into the air. He was about to inspect the damage when his throat began to burn. He began to cough, he tried to breathe in again, making a wheezing sound as the poisonous atmosphere tore into his lungs.

"Jean…" A voice said, Feminine and monotone. A slight echo was present in the woman's speech.

"W-What? Who are you?" He managed to choke out. His eyes had begun to burn as well.

"The mask, Jean." Jean looked through his teary eyes to see black mask over the head of a nearby skeleton. "Place the mask over your face and you will live." The voice changed tone, it sounded familiar now… It was Mikasa!

Jean crawled over towards the mask, holding his breath to stop the pain. What the hell? Is Mikasa here? She was with the group. Jean ripped the mask off the skull. The skull still had skin on its right side, rotten and bloody. Memories of Marco sat uncomfortably in his brain as he fitted the clumsy device over his head. The mask was uncomfortable, hard to see out of, and smelled like death, but he could breathe again.

"Where are you?" he called out, scanning the marsh. "Mikasa?" he saw nothing. He took a step forward, a piece of loose metal from his ODM gear bumped him in in the thigh. He decided to shed his smashed up gear, keeping his paring blades just in case. "Mikasa where are you?" He called out.

He heard stirring in the tall grass behind him. He turned quickly, hoping to see Mikasa. His blood froze when his eyes fell upon the true source of the stirring. A massive black creature, humanoid in form, its long arms reached down below its knees. Two black almond shaped eyes stared at him from its triangular face.

Jean took a step back as the creature walked towards him. He kept moving back until he tripped over his discarded gear. You moron! He crawled back frantically, trying desperately to escape this new monstrosity. He hit a wall and the creature closed in. He raised his blades, ready to defend himself, but he couldn't bring himself to strike. Something about it, it reminded him of Mikasa, yet it bore no resemblance in any way. It reached for him, its four-fingered hand resting on his shoulder. He began to feel light headed as his vision blurred.

He opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by vibrant white light, there was no floor, yet he was standing. He found himself wearing a white robe. A blurry figure began walking towards him. The image became clearer and cleared until he realized it was Mikasa walking towards him, clad in a similar white robe. What is this? Am I dead? Did she die too? Mikasa placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't be afraid Jean…" She said, looking into his eyes.

"I- But that thing—"She put his hand over his mouth, interrupting him.

"There is nothing to be afraid of."

His vision clouded over to black. His eyes shot open, he was on the ground again, the black creature looming over him. His fear was gone, he thought of what Mikasa had said, there was nothing to be afraid of. He lowered his blades. The creature extended its hand to him, as though it was trying to help to his feet. He took the creatures hand and stood up. He hooked his blades into his harness, and looked at the creature.

"What are you? Who are you?" He asked.

"She is a dark one." A more masculine voice said. Jean turned around to see a man standing on the other side of the pile of bricks. The man wore a fur coat and red bandana, he too had a mask similar to Jean's. "They are a race of telepathic mutants who reside here on the surface. Jean looked back to the creature, only to discover the dark one had vanished.

"Am I dreaming?" Jean asked the stranger. The stranger held out his hand for a handshake.

"My name is Khan, you don't seem like you belong here. How about we head over to Tretyakovskaya? Once there, you can tell me exactly where it is you came from."

"Tretya-what," Jean asked.

A boom was heard, Jean whipped around to see a cloud of steam just across the water, A 8 meter titan stepped out. Jean took a step back, his eyes widening in fear, the strange man reacted in a similar way. The titan stared at them and then took a step forward, making a large splash in the marsh. "Run!" Jean yelled.

"The metro is not far from here! Follow me!" Khan shouted, motioning Jean to follow. They sprinted to the left, the Titan was behind them in no time. A cloud of black suddenly streaked past them. Khan turned around, Jean looked back as well. A dark one had appeared at the titan's feet. The titan stopped and reached for the dark one, picking it up with one hand and bringing it to its mouth.

"What the-"Jean said out loud. "But titans only eat humans…." Suddenly, the titans hand shot open, the dark leapt forward, arms outstretched. Its hand made contact with the titans face. The titan's eyes rolled back and the dark one disappeared. The titan fell backwards, making quite a splash in the marsh. Its body began to dissolve soon after. Jean was dumbfounded, the dark one had just killed a titan! Just like that!

"Let's go," Khan said. "You can tell me more once we are safely underground."

Jean nodded in agreement. The two set out across the marshes. A slimy creature crawled out of the marsh, walked across the path, and dove into the water on the other side.

"What the fuck?" Jean asked, fearfully taking a step back.

"Calm down," The old man said, "the shrimps won't harm you unless provoked."

Khan's words did nothing to calm him down. Where the hell am I? An uncomfortable thought of hell crossed his mind.

They reached the crumbling remains of a stone building. "The entrance is just in here." Khan said

A load roar echoed across the marsh. Jean spotted a winged creature flying towards him, its claws extended. Jean and Khan both dove to the ground as its gnashing teeth flew over, just inches from Jean's head.

"Demon!" Khan shouted. "Into the building, now!" Khan pulled out a strange weapon, 8 barrels attached to a wooden stock. The weapon made a high-pitched puffing sound as arrows shot out of it. Jean made it into the structure, followed by Khan a few seconds later. The demon came flying at them, slamming into the walls. Jean backed up into the opposite wall, screaming in fear as the creature managed to fit one of its arms through the doorway. Its claws waved by Jeans face. Khan fired his weapon, lodging two bolts into the monsters face. The thing pulled out and flew away, howling in pain.

"That, was a demon." Khan said, smiling wryly. "The entrance is right here." Khan opened a hatch and climbed down. Jean followed. "You can take off your mask now."

Jean pulled off his mask and breathed in the stagnant air of the metro. Well, at least the titans can't get in here. Exhausted by the day's events, and a bit dizzy from the fear, his legs gave out and he fell forward. Khan caught him, holding him up with his shoulder. "Take a deep breath. No doubt you're confused. Don't worry, I can answer any questions you have."


	5. Reds

"They spotted us!" A voice crackled over the radio. "Moving to another firing position!"

Pavel was taking cover in the top of two story building. His back to the wall, a window just above his head. At least half of his force had fallen to the "khodunki" as the men had called them. He poked his head up just enough to see over the window sill. He glimpsed a crude pyrotechnic rocket spiraling out from a decrepit building down the block, it struck a khodunki in the face with no effect. He ducked down again. He only had 2 magazines left for his Kalash, he did have a sticky grenade, but explosives were equally ineffective. He decided to call a retreat, he was surrounded and cut off, but he still had his radio.

"Loyal comrades of the Red Line," He began, clutching the small black device tightly. "We have done all we can do, retreat to Teatr."

"Aye, Comrade Colonel." A voice responded.

"Comrade Colonel," Pavel never tired of hearing that. After the battle of D6, he had vowed to become the next leader of the red line. He was no longer content with simply following orders. His actions led him to betray a friend, not to mention it nearly destroyed the metro and cost him his life. He would become the next Secretary General.

The shooting subsided not long after. Pavel was on his own now. He took a deep breath and scanned the room, he spied a broken picture sitting face up on the dirty carpet. A picture of a young couple dressed for a wedding. Pavel leaned back against the wall, sighing deeply.

"Why didn't I try to find a woman?" He asked himself aloud. "What a waste of a life this turned into." The thundering footsteps of a khodunki shook the room. Pavel tensed up as the sound grew louder. Keep walking you bitch He tightened his grip on his Kalash, his finger resting on the trigger. The sound stopped, it was likely just outside. Pavel decided to take a chance, he sprinted towards the stairway. The khodunki's hand came crashing through the window, chipping off parts of the wall as well, showering Pavel with debris. A chunk of brick struck his calf, he stumbled forward. He grabbed hold of the handrail to steady his balance, the rail ripped out of the wall and Pavel tumbled down the stairs. He winced in pain as he staggered to his feet. His mask had a crack in the right corner, it wasn't enough to cause any immediate danger, but he definitely had to be more careful. The building shook a second time, knocking pictures of the walls. The khodunki was trying to reach through the front door, but its hand had become stuck at the wrist. It was now trying to free its hand, shaking the building in the process.

The cracking of timber began to ring through the building as the khodunki pulled to no avail. He's going to bring the whole place down. Pavel needed a way out, and he needed it now. His eyes fell upon a door, shaken open by the impacts, revealing a stairway leading down. Thank god, a basement. He sprinted down the stairs just as the building came down. "Fuck!" he shouted, turning around and examining the wall of debris that now blocked the stairs. Great idea genius! Now you're fucking trapped! He threw his Kalash to the ground in frustration. Switching on his headlamp, he took a look around. His frustration and fear vanished instantly when he noticed Ranger Insignia on the wall.

The basement was unfinished, stone floor, stone walls, ductwork on the ceiling. Down the hall, he found an airtight door. Looks like I'm in luck. He shut the door. An air filter sat in the corner, he switched it on. Within minutes, the air was breathable. After checking the breaker box, he managed to get the lights on. He analyzed his surroundings, the room was pretty empty, a filthy cot and a wooden table with a few bits of equipment. The walls were stone, painted white, the floor, concrete, a small blue rug sat in the center. He pulled off his gas mask and wiped the sweat off his face. Well, let's see if anything can get me out of here. He took a look at the various odds and ends on the table. He found some stray bullets, a pair of gas masks with filters, and an incendiary grenade. The rest was all junk. After pounding on the table in anger, he decided to take a second look in case he missed something. He wasn't expecting anything, but he had nothing else to do. To his delight he found 2 blocks of PVV-5A underneath a racy magazine. This should be able to clear the debris, it even has a blasting cap. The plastic explosives were his key to freedom, all he needed was a wire and he could send an electric signal with his charger. He looked around and discovered plenty of unused cables tacked to the ceiling. Looks like I'll live after all.

A burst of steam filled the room, Pavel jumped to the wall, covering his face from the heat. The steam dissipated quickly, strange considering he was in an airtight room. A kid was now standing in the corner, a frightened look on his face. The stranger looked between 14 and 15, with long blonde hair. In his hands was a single blade like weapon. "Who the hell are you?" Pavel asked, taking a step forward, his head cocked sideways with curiosity. The kid stayed still. Pavel took another step forward so that he was in arms reach. "Who are you?" He demanded a second time. The kid lunged forward with his blade, letting out a scream that seemed more fear than bravery. Pavel dodged to the side, catching the boy's sword arm and swinging him into the wall. A ringing clang echoed through the room as the sword hit the floor. Pavel drew his knife and held against the boy's throat. "I don't want to hurt you!" He shouted. Surely if anyone else tried this, Pavel would have gutted them on the spot. But there was something eerily familiar about this kid. A memory played in his head, his shootout with Artyom at the red square. He remembered his life flashing before his eyes, one particular memory stood out. A young pavel staring at himself in a broken mirror during his first mission to the surface, the image distorted, he could only make out his blue eyes from behind his gas mask.

Tears started to well up in the kid's eyes. Shit, this kid must've gone through hell. "I-I- My name is Armin Arlet." The boy stammered out.

Pavel sheathed his knife and took a step back. He extended his hand for a handshake. "Pavel Morozov." Armin returned the handshake, not making eye contact.

"Please, sir, can you tell me where I am?" Armin asked, weakly.

"You don't have to get all formal with me," Pavel chuckled. "We're all brothers in the underground."

Armin responded with a confused look

"It's a saying we have 'round here." Pavel explained. "You're in a cellar in Moscow, the building has collapsed on top of us, but I know how to get us out."

"I don't think—Im not familiar with—"Armin said, struggling to find his words.

"Calm down kid," Pavel said, with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Think of me as an older brother. Ok?"

Armin nodded in response.

"Alright, now just sit tight, I'm going to get us out of here." Pavel picked up the explosives and tore piece of wire from the ceiling. He placed both blocks together at the foot of the rubble. He only had one blasting cap, so he had to use both pieces at once. He strung the wire back and shut the door, allowing just enough of an opening to feed the wire through. Armin still stood in the corner, his eyes following a mutated spider scurrying across the floor. "You know what?" Pavel said, the boy looked up. "I can't help but like you, you remind me a lot of myself at your age. Hopefully, that means you're a dead-eye shot too." Pavel pulled his revolver from his holster and tossed it to Armin, the boy caught it, jumping at the unexpected action. Armin studied the metal contraption curiously. "You do know how to use one of these, right?"

"No, I—I don't even know what it is." Armin replied, handing the pistol back to Pavel.

"In that case, I better hold on to it so you don't shoot yourself." Pavel said, holstering the pistol "You seem to know how to handle that blade, hold on to that." Armin scooped his blade off the floor. Pavel handed him a gas mask. "Put this on." Pavel said, putting on his own mask.

"Sir—Pavel, what are the masks for?" Armin asked, clumsily pulling the mask over his face.

Sheesh, does this kid have amnesia or what? "It's for the air," he answered, fixing his charger to the cable. "You may want to cover your ears." Armin followed Pavel's advice. Pavel squeezed the handle, the crackling of electricity was heard for a split second followed by an explosion. Bits of debris pelted the steel door.

"Well, let's get going." Pavel said, motioning forward. The pair emerged from the underground, winding up face to face with a 5-meter khodunki. Armin didn't look nearly as scared as Pavel anticipated him to be. Although he definitely seemed surprised. "Shit, and here I thought we were in the clear."

The khodunki took a step towards them, the two sprinted to the nearest opening, an alley way just nearby. They were met with a dead end, initially hidden in the shadows. the khodunki stood opposite to them. C'mon there has to be—there! Pavel spotted a door. He turned the knob. Locked, Shit! He began ramming into the door with his shoulder in an attempt to break it down. "C'mon!" He yelled frantically.

"Pavel…" Armin said "Pavel, the titan…"

"What?" Pavel shouted in a panicked tone.

"It's not attacking us…"

Pavel looked back, the creature was standing in the alley, at least 20 feet away, but it wouldn't move any closer. What the hell? Pavel turned his attention back to the door. The last thing he wanted was the thing coming after them again. The door gave way with a loud crack, Pavel stumbled into the building, landing on his hands and knees. He looked up to see a small child, 5 years old. The child had no mask, blood was pouring from all orifices on his face.

"Papa?" The bloody child asked.

Pavel jerked away with a small yell, landing on his backside.

"What? What happened?" Armin asked, helping Pavel back to his feet. Pavel looked around to discover the child had vanished. He began laughing. "Are you okay?" Armin asked, his face contorting in concern.

"It was scared!" Pavel shouted joyously, he never thought he would be happy to see a ghost. "That big sonofabitch was scared! That's why he didn't chase us!"

"Scared of what?" Armin inquired.

"Oh just you wait." Pavel answered, dropping to a more serious tone. "You'll know it when you see it." They stepped through the mess of broken toys that filled the room. "Hey! I used to have one of these," He said, picking up a 6 inch toy soldier. He stuffed the object into his coat pocket.

"Um… Pavel." Armin asked, a tinge of fear in his voice. "You hear the baby crying, don't you?"

"Well looks like you found a ghost, where is the sound coming from?"

"Upstairs, but what if—"

Pavel cut him off. "It's not real, a baby wouldn't last more than a few seconds out here. Now we know to stay out of the upstairs."

They reached the other side of the room. Pavel opened the door to find the next room filled with rotten corpses, an eerie whispering could be heard, just barely. Armin was showing some signs of uneasiness, Pavel himself wasn't eager to step in either, but it was the only way to the other door. "Well, let's press on." Pavel said, placing his foot carefully, to avoid touching the bodies. No more than halfway through, Pavel heard Armin scream.

He whipped around, Kalash in hand. Armin's sword was drawn, the boy was slashing and blocking as though he was fighting an invisible opponent. His torso jerked back, he let out a whimper and dropped his sword before falling to the ground. Shit! Pavel rushed over, he didn't care he was stepping on bodies. He took a pulse, the boy was still alive, but unconscious. Pavel picked him up in a firemans carry. C'mon, don't die on me. He sprinted out into the street, just in front of him was the square, the same square he and Artyom had crossed all those years ago. He knew to avoid the crashed plane this time. Luckily, he was on the opposite side, getting into Teatr wouldn't be as long a trip. He sprinted onward, eager to leave the surface, and the khondunki, and retreat to the safety of the metro. Maybe catch a show at the Bolshoi, anything, just enjoy being alive.

A bestial howl echoed across the square, he whipped around to see a lone watchman sitting in the street. Its head held high as it howled. Fucking watchmen, it's fucking déjà vu today! He kept up his sprint as the watchmen flooded the street. He was no more than 20 meters from Teatr, but he couldn't effectively defend himself with his Kalash. He pulled his revolver and began firing backwards with one hand, reloading would be the hard part. Gunfire erupted from the station building, he could hear a few watchmen howl in pain behind him.

"Shit! Its comrade Colonel!" one of the soldiers exclaimed. Pavel crossed the threshold and sprinted down the escalator. The soldiers followed. The door opened quickly and Pavel ducked inside. The flamethrowers couldn't fire until the other men were out of the way. The creatures lit up like match sticks when the flamers finally cut loose. The flames engulfing their hairy bodies as they screeched in agony. But they didn't fire soon enough, Pavel felt a pair of claws sink into his calves and he tumbled forward, dropping Armin in the process. The watchman hopped on his back, slashing through his jacket. A flurry of gunfire erupted, the creature was no longer atop him.

"Comrade Colonel? Are you hurt?" A soldier asked, kneeling beside him.

Pavel's back was definitely cut, luckily not too deep, his legs on the other hand, were pretty mangled. "I'm fine, Igor. Get that kid to a doctor, there's no telling what he went through."


	6. Tunnels

"Wow! You really saw one?" Misha asked the stalker. "Was it big? Did you kill it?" he was practically radiating with excitement. He and Anna were on their way to Teatr to see the famous bolshoi. They were currently on a handcar train bound for the Red Line.

"He was huge!" The stalker replied with a smile. He held up his hand as though measuring an invisible person. "He was 7 meters tall. I shot him right in the eye." The stalker pointed to his left eye.

"I hope I get to see one." Misha said. "Mama, how long until I can be a stalker?"

"When you're fifteen." Anna replied. "You and papa can go up together."

"Is your husband a stalker too?" The stalker asked.

"He's not my husband, not officially." Anna explained. "He's a ranger, he's on a mission right now, probably hunting those mutants."

"Well I wish him luck. I don't mean to brag, but I've been up there 30 times."

"And how much treasure did you find the last 29 times, Yuri?" One of the handcar operators chuckled.

"That's beside the point Roman!" Yuri responded, rolling his eyes. "The point is that my buddies and I are now the richest people on the entire line!"

"I'm guessing you made a good find." Anna asked.

"That I did, 3000 plus bullets, all pristine. We got it near kremlin, though I don't think any old stalker will have the same luck. So I'm off to the fabulous Boshoi, I've always wanted to see one of their shows."

"That's where Misha and I are headed. My Artyom has been to one, he said we had to see it for ourselves."

"Artyom sounds like a smart man." Said a red soldier, sitting across from her, smoking weed. "I used to be an actor in my day. I performed all kinds of shows. Then I became a soldier. Fighting for the glory of the red line." The soldier looked over his shoulder to the hand car operators. "Hey, how much longer?"

"We haven't even reached halfway, be patient." The operator said, pumping away on the lever. The car crept through the dark tunnel. Visibility was low, one could see no more than 10 feet ahead. 4 men worked the handles, 4 more walked beside the cart, weapons in hand. Everyone had guns of course, except for Misha. Yuri, had a large Preved, similar to the one Anna had left in polis. The red soldier had his Kalash, and Anna had an Ashot tucked into her waistband.

"Halfway everyone!" one of the operators shouted. The car skidded to a halt, the men walking would trade places with those pumping the levers. The operators had just hopped down, when a jet of steam burst forward from the darkness.

"Fuck!" One of the men shouted, his voice echoing through the tunnel. The guards fumbled with their weapons and pointed them down the tunnel. The red and the stalker drew weapons as well. Anna pulled out her Ashot, making sure Misha was behind her.

"What happened?" asked one man.

"Shit what's going on here?" another voice said.

Dead silence, the crew's flashlights and headlamps barely made a dent in the darkness.

"H-Hello?" A voice stammered out. Young and feminine.

"It's a girl! It's a person!" Someone said. A few of the men lowered their weapons.

"I can see you, I can see your lights! Do you know where I am?" the voice said, the owner sounded disoriented, maybe even injured.

Something doesn't feel right. Anna tightened her grip on her weapon. "Could be bandits." She said.

Yuri turned around. "Why would there be bandits in this tunnel?" He said. "We're a stone's throw from Polis.

"Hello?" The men turned their attention back to the strange voice. A young woman stood in the middle of the tracks. She wore white clothing with a variety of harnesses zigzagging across her body. Her brown jacket had a dual wing insignia emblazoned over the breast pocket, a red scarf hung around her neck.

"Don't come any closer bitch!" One of the guards shouted, shouldering his RPK. "Drop your weapons!" he commanded, referencing the two silver blades she held in each hand. Her body language changed immediately. Before she was dazed and confused, now her eyes were narrow, scanning the strangers ahead of her. Her stance was aggressive, ready to spring forward at the slightest provocation. She rotated her blades slightly, reflecting the light from the cart. The men winced as the glint obstructed their view. A shot rang out, a Lolife. The girl toppled backwards with a scream that echoed through the tunnel. She writhed in pain, clutching her thigh were the bullet had impacted.

"What the hell man?" A soldier said, punching the triggerman in the shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry, I thought she was about to attack."

"A little girl like that?" Anna shouted "A little girl like that was going to attack an armed caravan? How stupid do you think she is, or better yet, how stupid are you?" she holstered her weapon and hopped of the cart. "Misha, stay put." Misha nodded, clinging to his toy bear in fear. "Yuri, help me carry her back here. I don't trust any of these trigger happy bastards."

"Uh, sure." He said, slinging his Preved. He climbed down and followed Anna to the strange woman. They were no more than 6 feet away when the girl held out her sword, pointing it at them. "Easy, Lady," Yuri said calmly. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Those men back there have no trigger discipline, let alone any backbone." Anna added. Yuri took a step closer, the girl pointed her blade at him. He took a step back, holding his hands up. "Look, I get it okay. You don't trust us, but unless you want to bleed to death, you have to cooperate. Otherwise, get off the tracks, people are trying to get through."

The girl lowered he sword after a brief pause. Anna and Yuri approached carefully, ready to jump away if she lashed out at them. "It went straight through, missed the bone too." Yuri said, inspecting her leg. "You should be fine, just needs some stitches." He pulled a roll of gauze from his satchel. He wrapped it around the wound.

"Can you walk?" Anna asked, helping her to her feet.

"I don't know, it hurts but I think I can manage." She said. Anna and Yuri helped her back to the cart. Anna glared at the guard who had fired the shot in the first place.

"So who is this girl?" the red soldier asked, his joint still clutched between his teeth. The girl took a seat on the end, leaving a few feet between Yuri, who was sitting next to her.

"Well, if there's nothing else, let's get moving." A handcar operator said. The men took their positions, four worked the levers, four walked beside the car as it rumbled down the tracks.

"So… do you have a name?" Yuri asked. The girl looked the other way, staring at the wall of the tunnel. She looked back a momentlater.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"Right now you're on the Red Line, between polis and Teatr." Yuri answered.

"I'm sorry, where?" She asked, her face contorted in confusion.

"The Red Line. You know… commies…reds…the Bolshoi?"

The girl processed those names, but recognized none. "I have no idea what you are talking about. You people, I've never seen anyone like you before. I don't think this is an area I'm aware of. Are we outside the walls?"

"The walls?" Anna chimed in, "We're underground. The walls are all around us."

"No, I mean THE walls, Maria, Rose, Sina." the metro dwellers were puzzled by the names. "Their big, 50 meters high! Don't tell me you've never seen them!"

"I've heard of buildings that size, but never any walls." Anna said.

"Tallest thing I've ever seen was a building about 30 meters high, of course a good deal of it collapsed, so it could have been bigger." Yuri added, trying to help the girl get her bearings.

"Maybe she hit her head on the rails or something." The red suggested, jumping into the conversation. "Sounds to me like she's lost it."

"I know what I've seen!" the girl shouted, standing up in the hope of intimidating the soldier. Her injured leg couldn't support her weight she tumbled forward. Anna and Yuri shot up and caught her.

"Easy, take it easy. Anna said, helping her back into her seat. "We'll get you to a doctor when we reach teatr."

"Here," Yuri said, handing over 2 clips of military grade cartridges to Anna. "This should cover the doctor's expense."

"No, you don't have to." Anna said, pushing his hand back. "My boyfriend and I are rangers, I have the bullets to pay for it."

"If you say so." Yuri replied, stuffing the bullets into his pocket. "We still never got a name."

"Mikasa Ackerman." The girl answered.

"So, Ms. Ackerman, how did you wind up here?" Yuri asked.

"That's, a good question. I don't know." Mikasa answered. We had just got back from fighting titans, when there was a puff of steam, and now I'm here.

"What the hell is a titan?" Anna asked.

"They're huge monsters," Mikasa explained. "They resemble a giant naked man, they eat—"

"Wait!" Yuri cut her off. "I've seen one of those! Up on the surface!" Mikasa's widened in surprise.

"Artyom is up there fighting those things as we speak!" Anna added.

"I heard Comrade Morozov launched an attack a few hours ago!" The red said.

"So, the titans are here?" Mikasa asked.

"They just appeared 2 days ago!" Yuri informed her. "I was first to see one!"

"So, they just appeared, huh?" Mikasa asked. The group nodded. "Well there are some things you should know, for starters, the weak spot is the back of the neck."

The caravan pulled into Teatr a half hour later. Mikasa had told them everything she knew about the titans. Anna needed to get word to her father, or Artyom. They could relay it to Kornayev, leader of the Spartan Rangers.

"Do you know when the next train to polis is?" Anna asked the customs officers. The guards looked at each other. One pulled a small brown book from his back pocket and paged through for about a minute.

"Danila and his men should be coming through in a day or so." The guard answered.

Anna sighed deeply, she would have to wait until then. She flashed her passport and she and Misha were allowed through. Yuri was behind them, helping Mikasa across the platform. He displayed a passport, but the guards refused to allow him in.

"How old is that girl?" the guard asked.

"I'm fifteen." Mikasa answered.

"Shut up!" Yuri hissed under his breath.

"Fifteen or over requires a passport, we can't let her in." the guard said.

"Look, she needs a doctor." Anna said, pointing to the bloodstains on Mikasa's leg.

"I'm sorry, she has to wait on the platform." the guard answered coldly.

"Mikasa? Mikasa!" a voice shouted over the noisy crowd of the station. Mikasa looked to find the owner of the voice, it sounded very familiar.

"Dammit! Get back here!" a voice followed. A dark haired boy pushed his way through the crowd, wearing the umistakable survey corp uniform. As he came closer, Mikasa recognized him.

"Eren? Is that you?"


	7. Friends

"Just open the fucking door!" Artyom said irritably, pounding on the door to Revolution. "We're obviously not one of those things."

"Fine, fine." The man on the other side answered. The massive metal door shrugged, and opened to a grinding sound. Eren took a step back, not expecting the shrill sound of metal on metal contact. Artyom motioned the squad in, and the door shut behind them.

"Who's the new guy? The major asked, pointing to Eren. "A stalker or something?"

Artyom opened his mask, breathing in the stale air of the metro. "Yeah, a stalker." He said bluntly. Artyom and the others pushed passed the Red barricades and into the inhabited section of the station. _We have two rail bikes, both are two seaters. But there's five of us_… "You three take the bikes back to Polis, inform Kornayev and Melnik about what we found. I'll take a caravan back to Polis with the kid"

The rangers saluted and walked off. "You can take off that mask, boy." Artyom said to Eren. Eren pulled of the mask, his face contorted with disgust as he took a breath of the metro's atmosphere. "It's just something you get used to down here." Artyom said," taking Eren's mask and hooking it to his belt.

"So, you all live down here?" Eren asked. "It seems a little small."

"Well, there are other stations. They are all connected by tunnels." Artyom explained, "This one is Revolution Square, we are trying to get to Polis, the largest station. That's where I live, and where the rangers are based.

"So did you all hide underground when the titans came?" Eren asked.

"Huh?" _Oh, he must mean those creatures_ "No, the titans only appeared a few days ago. We hid here after nuclear war killed everything else. That was 25 years ago.

"A war? With what?" Eren asked, "What's a nuclear?"

"Nuclear bombs, a weapon that can level an entire city and poison everything in the blast radius. That's why we have to wear masks outside. The bombs were created by humans in the millions, meant to be used on other humans. Now nothing is left but us few in the metro."

"What?" Eren seemed astonished, most kids were, upon hearing exactly what a nuclear weapon was. "Why was something like that even created?" Artyom detected a twinge of anger.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Artyom said, "I was a mere child when the bombs fell."

"So, you're telling me that humans destroyed themselves?"

Artyom felt like Khan, that crazy old philosopher, explaining the truth to a young man. "Yes, and now we're still killing each other. These people around us, they are from the Red Line. 5 years ago they tried to conquer the whole metro, but the Rangers stopped them."

"And you still trust them?"

"I'm a Ranger of the Spartan Order, I am sworn to protect all human life in the metro." Artyom said proudly. "Right now I have to take you to my leader, he'll want to talk to you." Artyom motioned forward, the two pushed their way through the crowded station. Eren's strange attire drew the eyes of many metro dwellers. The station next to them was Teatr, they just needed to cross over and they could find a caravan back to Polis.

"Do you have a pass?" The Revolution Square guard asked. Artyom flashed his Ranger dogtags. "Alright, go on ahead. Artyom and Eren walked down the hall and came to the door to Teatr. Guarded by two rather bored looking soldiers.

"Hey, it's another one!" The guard said to his partner, pointing at Eren. "You find that kid on the surface too?"

"Another one?" Artyom asked, showing his dogtags. One of the guards nodded and unlocked the door.

"Yeah, another one." The other guard said. "Some of our boys came down from the surface with some little blonde kid wearing the exact same getup." He pointed at Eren again.

"What? Where?" Eren demanded.

"He's at the hospital, he was unconscious when the Colonel brought him in."

"We have to find him, now!" Eren said to Artyom.

"Alright, alright. Maybe he'll know more than you." Artyom said, pushing past the guards. The door opened to the station platform, a caravan had just arrived, the area was crowded with travelers. He spotted a small group arguing with the immigration officers. A familiar face caused him to do a double take, it was Anna! Accompanied by Misha. _That's right, they were going to see the Bolshoi_. Another thing caught his eye, a dual wing insignia on the back of a young girl's jacket. The same insignia that was on Eren's jacket.

"Mikasa!" Eren shouted, running forward through the crowd. "Mikasa!" Artyom tried to grab his collar, but missed it by an inch.

"Dammit, get back here!" Artyom growled, running after Eren. People yelled obscenities as he shoved them out of his wa. Eren made it to the dark-haired girl and began talking to her. She lunged forward and gave him a hug. "What the hell kid?" Artyom asked angrily after he caught up to them. He looked up and found himself eye to eye with Anna.

"Artyom? You're here?" She said.

"Papa!" Misha shouted, giving his father a hug.

"Artyom, this is Mikasa." Eren said. "She's my sister."

"How did you get here?" Mikasa asked Eren. The two began conversing, but Artyom paid them no bother, he was more interested in talking to Anna.

"I arrived from Revolution," Artyom explained. "we were up on the surface fighting those things—"

"The Khondunki" Anna corrected.

"Whatever, we found this kid and brought him down here." Artyom leaned forward. "He just appeared in front of us, I think he might be insane." He whispered.

"Well this girl just appeared in the tunnel." Anna said, pointing to Mikasa. "She seems a bit out of sorts too."

"Artyom?" Eren said, tapping on his shoulder. Artyom looked over to him. "My sister needs a doctor, can you get us inside?"

Artyom walked to the guards without saying a word. He showed them his dog tags. "Let the girl through." he said. The guard nodded and opened the gate. Artyom and Eren walked through, A stalker helped Mikasa through. They moved through the crowds of people, all gathered in bunches watching musicians and other entertainers perform. They reached the clinic and stepped inside.

"This girl needs help." Artyom told the doctor, pointing at Mikasa's leg."

"Sure thing, just sit right here miss." The doctor said, moving a chair to the center of the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Artyom spotted a young man with long blonde hair laying in one of the cots, unconscious. "Hey," Artyom said, getting Eren's attention. He pointed to the kid.

Eren quickly walked over. "Armin? Armin are you awake."

"Well, I'll be damned…" A voice said from behind. Artyom whipped around to see none other than Pavel Morozov standing on a pair of crutches. "Artyom! Chuvak! Long time no see!" He said, smiling.

Artyom punched Pavel right in the face, sending him tumbling backwards. The doctor quickly rushed over and helped him back up. "Now, we're even." Artyom said, shaking the pain out of his hand.

"What the fuck was that for?" Pavel said, rubbing his jaw.

"Let's see… you betrayed me to that bastard Korbut!" Artyom shouted back. "I spared your life, but don't think that makes us friends!"

"Do you think I wanted to betray you?" Pavel shot back. "I saved your life back at that concentration camp! We killed those Nazi's together!"

"And I saved your life when you ambushed me at Red Square, but I never got to repay you for selling me out to Korbut." Artyom responded. "So, now we're even."

"So… we're good?" Pavel said, a shimmer of hope in his eyes.

"We'll see how it plays out."

"Okay…okay…" Pavel said, staring at the floor. "So… who is this kid, is he your son?" He pointed to Eren.

"What? No!" Artyom answered.

"Really? You two look a lot alike." Pavel said. Artyom had definitely noticed some resemblance when he first found Eren, it was actually kind of spooky how alike their personalities were as well.

"What about that kid, he looks like you as well." Artyom said, pointing to Armin.

"I suppose," Pavel said, trying to dismiss it.

"So what was his name?" Artyom asked, Eren had said it earlier, something with an A…

"Uhh, I can't remember exactly" Pavel said, scratching his head. "I think it was like… Arminius or something.

"His name is Armin Arlet!" Eren chimed in. "Do you guys know what's wrong with him? He won't wake up"

Mikasa let out a small yell in the other room. "Hold still!" The doctor ordered. Eren got up and walked over to check on her.

"So where do you think they came from?" Artyom asked Pavel.

"I haven't the slightest idea." Pavel replied.

"I believe I may have an answer." A voice said. Artyom's blood turned to ice. _No, I know that voice!_ A hand fell on his shoulder. Artyom immediately whipped around, breaking loose from the man's grip.

"Khan! Where the hell did you come from!"


End file.
